Cafe Taiwan

You’ll find lots of unique and lovely little snacks at Cafe Taiwan, many of which are impossible to find elsewhere the Bay Area. And, best of all, they make some magical and rare Hakka specialties.

Ground pork with rice ($3.50) is excellent; a good amount of rice with lots of ground pork, tea egg, and cilantro. Mi tai mu (listed under Hakka Specials, $3) are like Japanese udon noodles, but made with rice flour–and you can really taste the rice. Served with a tea egg, it’s simple goodness.

KK reports on the contents of a Chinese-language blog post on this place, from a Vitomin (Hakkanese-Taiwanese) eater who really digs their Hakka specialties. We learn that the signature dishes are mahn luan ju jiao and mahn luan pig feet. The mahn luan pig feet are marinated for a long time, cooked, cut up, and served with dipping sauce; it is apparently much more delicious than their regular pig feet. So don’t settle for pedestrian pig feet!

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The take-out menu reads “open 7 days,” but they may actually close on Wednesdays, so call first!